Lomba de São Pedro

On the northern coast of São Miguel, between the pastures of Fenais da Ajuda and the ravines that run down to the northeast, the parish of Lomba de São Pedro occupies the crest of a green hillside above the Atlantic. It is one of the smallest and most remote parishes of the Ribeira Grande municipality: a church, a scatter of houses, hedged fields and long views over the sea.

A young parish on an old coast

The place belonged for centuries to the neighbouring parish of Fenais da Ajuda and was only raised to a parish of its own in 1980, making it the youngest of the municipality; its name simply describes the land, a crest — lomba — between two ravines, dedicated to Saint Peter. The parish church of São Pedro, built in the nineteenth century around an earlier chapel, keeps a gilded chancel arch, and farming remains the parish’s life.

Down to the water

The coast below the parish is wild: the sands and waterfall of the Praia da Viola lie at the foot of the slopes, reached by a steep road, and the ravines around it carry streams that make this corner of the island a canyoning destination — the Ribeira da Salga runs to the sea just along the coast. The landscapes of the island’s northeast unfold on either side of the parish road: east towards the cliffs and gardens of Nordeste, and west towards the Ribeira Grande, the island’s old second city.

What to see

• The parish church of São Pedro
• The sands and waterfall of the Praia da Viola
• The canyoning routes of the Ribeira da Salga
• The long sea views from the coast road

Practical information

Lomba de São Pedro lies on the north coast road of São Miguel, in the Ribeira Grande municipality, east of the town between Fenais da Ajuda and the Salga coast. The beach access is steep and streams rise quickly in rain: wear shoes with grip and check the official websites before setting out.

Image credit: Praia da Viola, São Miguel Island by Alexey Komarov — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.